Larkhall
Larkhall is a small island lying to the north of the Coast of Sjaeland. It currently belongs to the crown of Sjaeland, yet Fynn retains the right to sustain a naval depot on the island's eastern coast. The island's inhabitants are mainly whalers, living off the profits of whale oil trade. The island has a fleet of almost 100 whaling ships and provides most of the Whale oil consumed in the world. The island's settlement is dominated by two families, the Coffins and the Nickersons, who have been rulling the island for the past years. Most of the island's history was unknown, due mainly to the actions of a Banshee, that posed as Irene Nickerson, the youngest matriarch of the Nickerson family. The evnts were uncovered by the Dayne Expedition, during their visit to the island in 1402. Geography Larkhall isle is surrounded by some rocky reefs, where sand has accumulated over the years, forming shifting dunes. The north-western part of the island is sandy and several salt flats dominate most the scenery. To the south-west the island is forested and the coast is rocky and ragged. Within the island's largest bay lies Larkhall village, thesiland's only settlement. A small bay to the south west, known as Aelfric's Landing, is dominated by the Aelfric Cathedral, built in the location of the former trading settlement of Bircu. History Bircu, initial settlers. It is unknown when the island was first settled, though the first settlers were humans, following a heathen faith revolving around Norse myths and legends. The inhabitants had established the settlement of Bircu, which soon grew to a trading spot, initial between the Norsemen and the inhabitants and later between Norsemen and the rest of the world. Aelfric's Landing Having travelled converted nmost of Burnholm, Fynn and Sjaeland, to the faith of Thelema , king Aelfric landed on the island's south western coast in 1050. The inhabitants did not accept the King and in a battle Aelfric was captured and decapitated. His head and body was thrown into the sea. Legend has it that the body then came out of the water carrying it's severed head,which he placed upon a stone and retreated back to the ocean. According to the same sources the local inhabitants were converted by the miraculous event accepting the faith of Thelema. Ecclesiastical independence, Aelfric's Cathedral After the Council of Plancy in 1269, the church of Sjaeland became independent and, due to the absence of a central church structure, the island's population was cut off from the rest of Sjaeland. In 1280 Gregory Adams of the Royal Society (cooperating with Nicolas Remy) arrived to the island with a Comission from the crown of Sjaeland to locate the head of Aelfric. He soon claimed he had reclaimed the relic and was given control of the island's forest and flint deposits in order to built a cathedral for the relic. An order of Friars was established in the cathedral under the command of Adams, who was ordained an Abbot of the church of Sjaeland. In 1298 a Naval Depot was established by Fynn on the island, to supply possible future expeditions. The Dayne Expedition visiting the island in 1402 revealed that Adams had in fact produced a fake head at that time, in an attempt to win more time and the crown's support. Blood of Aelfric By 1330 Adams was still alive and had formed strong ties with the leader of the local community (Eduard Coffin) having betrothed his daughter to the man's son. By the same time, a thick red substance was found to leak out of the mines that contaminated the eastern part of the island. People started becoming sick with what Adams recognised as symptoms of mercury poisoning. The posioned men though remained animate even beyond death, though they ceased to be responsive, passively hanging around in apparently complete dementia. The Dayne expedition in 1402 revealed that at about the same period Adams discovered the actual grave of Aelfric and recognised it as the source of the red substance. The only other thing in the grave was the king's head, lacking eye holes, ear holes and having an extremely small lower jaw. With access to great ammounts of the substance, Adams, working secretly managed to create a ritual that made the substance inert and slowed, or halted, the advancement of the poisoning. Without any time in his hands in which to convince the priests and local community to consume the substance, he made the whole act into a religious ritual, the consumption of the blood of Aelfric, the Saint King. Meanwhile, around 1345 the prison ship Pandora arrives to the naval depot. The ship, which has just returned from the far South (Godwanna) where it arrested the Harloch mutineers, was quarantined due to an unknown sickness that consumed the crew. The ship brings to the depot a Tuyevera , which continues to be active and directs its attention to the personel of the depot and local prostitutes that visit the depot. The Tuyevera at some point attacks mercury poisoned individuals. When those die by the attack, they do not become the passive undead that Adams is used to. Due to the effects of the "blood" they survve the removal of their heart and liver by the tuyevera and become aggressive undead. Church Division As the first attacks begin in the local forest, the northern sailors start speaking of the Draugr legend (aggressive heathen undead that avenge then theft from or destruction of their burial mounds). Most sailors accuse the priests for using the local ancient graves as mining shafts for extracting flint, thus helping the contamination to spread. At about the same time the aggressive undead in the forest start assuming the forming of dead horses, a common legend about the Draugr (they later assumed forms of recently killed victims, feeding the legend of vampirism). As the citizens become restless Adams choses to reveal to Coffin his knowledge about the substance and Aelfric's real skull. Coffin receives the information unfavourably and considers the priest as responsile for the island's problems. With the rest of the citizens Coffin attacked the temple, while Adams retreated into the cave where the skull was discovered. There he met for the first time a Banshee that inhabits Aelfric's grave (an old elven lady that lost her court to Fir Bolg after the second battle of Magh Tuiredh ). The Banshee agreed to save him by transferring him to Faerie. From there he managed to continue performing the ritual upon the "blood" in the grave, thus keeping the blood-consuming ritual effective even after his apparent disappearance. He is forced though, to stealing magical items to provide materials for the rituals. Coffin did not find Adams but claimed the real head of Aelfric, which he considered responsible for everything. He seals it in a box, forming a pious religious cult around the relic, denying any relations with the priests in the temple. The new cult is named the Society of Friends, has no official leader and no rituals, only a daily meeting in the Coffin house, where matter of faith are discussed. Irene Nickerson (Coffin) In the town the granddaughter of Coffin and Adams, disobeys her surviving grandfather and visits the cave in the hope of meeting her lost grandfather. She is followed home by the Banshee. The fact that the head has been held in the room in ritualistic reverence, bends the laws of Fairie enough for the room to be considered a grave. She uses that room to cross into the world and abduct the young Coffin girl, taking her place. The Banshee Coffin grew and married James Nickerson. When old Coffin almost managed to discover her she transfered him into Faerie, where he reunited with his real grand-daughter but died trying to find a way out of the Faerie city, becoming a Shadow . Meanwhile the Banshee Coffin attempted to manipulate the population, by tightening the rules of the town's religous cult, the Society of Friends. As part of this attempt she tried to keep the people cut off from other supernatural beings, including the Clinkerknocker , which the men of the town respected, like all northern sailors. In a bold act she attempted to exorcise the Clinkerknocker from the ship of her husband, resulting in the spirit appearing in the ship's next voyage. During this voyage the spirit appeared to the crew of the ship, an action that, according to legend, ensures their death during their next seabound voyage. The ship was severy damaged, but miraculously arrived at port, allowing the crew to disembark before falling appart and quickly sinking. Since then Nickerson never travelled. he lived in is family house, away from his wife. Dayne Expedition of 1402 In 1402 the Dayne Expedition of 1402 arrived in Larkhall, in order to buy resources. They were attacked by the island's undead and decided to investigate the matter. During their stay they manage to unveil the island's hisotry and kill the Tuyevera, which appeared to be the source of the aggressive undead. They manage to unveil the banshee Coffin's plot. They accuse her of Witchcraft and the banshee escapes into Faerie, sending back the young, real Coffin. The locals see the young Coffin and are convinced of her Witchcraft. She is seized and burned. Members of her family retrieve her ashes into the Coffin house. Since the departure of the Dayne Expedition the strange head of Aelfric has been missing. The Harloch mutineers have joined the expedition, leaving the Naval Depot empty. Category:The Lands